National Vision Q2 2026 Earnings: SG&A Leverage Lifts Adjusted Margin to 6.3%

National Vision (NASDAQ: EYE) reported fiscal Q2 2026 net revenue of $498.8 million, up 2.5% year over year, while diluted EPS increased to $0.15 from $0.11. Profitability improved as lower associate-related and advertising expenses reduced SG&A, more than offsetting a higher cost-of-revenue ratio. Adjusted operating income rose 32.7% to $31.6 million.

Core results

Revenue growth for the quarter ended July 4, 2026 was supported by new stores, adjusted comparable-store sales growth and a 0.8% benefit from the timing of unearned revenue. Store closures provided a partial offset.

The earnings improvement was faster than revenue growth. Net income increased to $12.4 million, while adjusted operating margin expanded by 140 basis points as SG&A declined both in dollars and as a percentage of revenue.

Adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin and adjusted diluted EPS are non-GAAP measures. The timing of unearned revenue benefited net income by $2.2 million, adjusted operating income by $2.9 million, and both diluted and adjusted diluted EPS by $0.03.

Business and store performance

Comparable-store sales grew 3.4%, while adjusted comparable-store sales growth was 2.2%. Higher average tickets and continued strength among managed care customers supported sales, partially offset by lower traffic from self-pay customers.

National Vision opened nine new America’s Best stores and closed two during the quarter. It finished the period with 1,281 stores, representing overall store-count growth of 3.3%.

Management described the shift toward higher-value transactions, managed care customers and an improved product mix as part of its effort to build a more profitable customer base. The company also completed its website replatforming, creating a unified commerce foundation intended to connect eye exams, prescriptions and retail purchases.

SG&A leverage outweighed higher product costs

Costs applicable to revenue increased 4.0% to $208.4 million, faster than revenue growth. These costs rose to 41.8% of revenue from 41.2%, with the 60-basis-point increase attributed to a strategic mix shift toward higher-value products.

SG&A moved in the opposite direction, declining 1.5% to $243.4 million. As a percentage of revenue, SG&A fell 200 basis points to 48.8%, mainly because of lower associate-related expenses, including variable incentive compensation, and lower advertising spending. Higher occupancy expense was a partial offset.

Adjusted SG&A declined 1.6% to $236.2 million and fell to 47.3% of revenue from 49.3%. This expense leverage was large enough to absorb the higher product-cost ratio and still produce a meaningful increase in adjusted operating margin.

Balance sheet and capital allocation

National Vision ended the quarter with $36.0 million in cash and $237.7 million in total debt. It had no borrowings outstanding under its $300.0 million first-lien revolving credit facility, excluding $6.7 million of letters of credit.

The company repurchased approximately 1.2 million shares for $20.0 million during the quarter. Its share-repurchase authorization had $30.0 million of remaining capacity as of July 4, 2026.

Fiscal 2026 guidance

National Vision narrowed the upper end of its adjusted comparable-store sales growth outlook to 5.0% from 6.0%, while leaving the 3.0% lower bound unchanged. The company maintained its new-store target and lowered and narrowed its planned capital expenditure range.

The outlook covers the 52 weeks ending January 2, 2027. The new-store plan primarily assumes America’s Best openings and excludes the 20 Military store additions completed in April 2026.

Risks investors should monitor

• Continued weakness in self-pay traffic: Higher tickets and managed care growth offset lower self-pay customer traffic this quarter, but persistent traffic declines could limit comparable-store sales growth.
• Pressure from product mix: The move toward higher-value products raised costs applicable to revenue as a percentage of sales. Further adjusted-margin expansion depends partly on maintaining enough SG&A leverage to offset this pressure.
• Unearned-revenue timing: Timing added 0.8% to quarterly revenue and contributed $2.9 million to adjusted operating income. This benefit affects comparability and means not all of the reported earnings growth came from underlying operations.
• Potential expense normalization: Lower advertising and variable incentive compensation helped Q2 margins, while occupancy costs increased. Management also plans greater marketing investment in the second half, making the future SG&A trajectory important.

Summary

National Vision’s second quarter combined modest revenue growth with faster earnings growth, driven primarily by SG&A discipline, higher average tickets and managed care demand. The central questions for upcoming quarters are whether the company can sustain expense leverage, stabilize self-pay traffic and deliver growth within its narrower adjusted comparable-store sales range while continuing its store and digital initiatives.